Elis Dominate at Fairfield Invitational

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -
The Bulldogs finished their first competition of the season in fine form Saturday morning, taking eight of the top twelve places at the Fairfield Invitational. Running much of the race as a pack, the Yale squad dominated over the 8,000-meter course. The senior duo of Yale's Murat Kayali and John Hinkle came out in front, both finishing in a time of 25:13 with Kayali taking first at the line. Continuing the Bulldog sweep was freshman Julian Sheinbaum, who finished third in his collegiate debut with a time of 25:34. The team score was an impressive 20 points, with Fordham taking a distant second with 72 points. Yale's average time was 25:35, nearly an entire minute faster than Fordham's average.

Rounding out the scoring five were sophomore Max Walden in seventh place, (26:04) and junior Max Brown in ninth place (26:07).

"I was very pleased with the effort out there today," the men's head coach Dan Ireland commented.

The result was particularly impressive, Coach Ireland explained, considering Yale ran without four of their top five runners from last year's team, who chose to forgo racing and instead train in preparation for the upcoming season.

Up next for the Bulldogs is the annual Harvard-Yale dual meet, to be held at the Yale Golf Course on the afternoon of Saturday, September 27. This will be the Bulldogs' first Ivy League competition of the season, and their only home cross-country meet for 2008. With the full Yale squad toeing the line in two weeks, it promises to be an exciting meet.